New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-08-17
THE LAST PLACE FOR PARTISANS


Signs are, unfortunately, not wanting thai
the National Civil Service Commission Is IN
danger of losing that non-partiSan character
which, above all other Government Doafds,
it should have. Commissioner Edgcrton, who
seems to be the talking member OF the board,
appears in the newspapers in defence OF the
| Presidents course regarding the Offices, and
! there arc Democratic rumors that the neXl
annual report of the Commission, which will
apnear about the time the ante-PresidentiaI
I camraign begins, is to undertake to break
the force of the recent exposures made by
Mr.. Curtis and the Newport Conference. Mr..
Edgcrton is quoted as saying that he intends
TO be "prctty severe upon the Chicago Civil
Service League. who, he declares made
charges against the officials there and then
1" had nothing to sustain them,' and he an
nounccs that he will take decided grounds
against these investigations upon indefinite
charges made by irresponsible persons, such
as make up the various Civil Service Reform
Leagues throughout the country.
In these utterances rs well as In the report
uron the Philadelphia post-ofce, the chief
anxiety of tho Commissioners seemed to be
to show how narrow the bounds OF their
authority were, and how little, rather than
how much, they could do for reform. Al
though removals for political reasons are
violation of the whole spirit of the law, and
although the law makes certain kinds of pol
itical removals-as where a clerk refuses TO
paw a political assessment or to render pol
itical scrvice-oifcnces punishable with fine
and Imprisonment, yet because the law does
-, IL. ION
reason whatever, the Commission took tho
ground that 1t had no right to look into tho
postmaster's reasons for his wholesale changes.
Under this narrow Interpretation of thoir
powers, tho head of every important Office
in the country might make up q clean sweep
of his clerks, and the only way the President.
il he were anxious to sustain the reform.
could find out why this was being done.
would be to 60 entirely outside the Civil Ser
vice Commission, who are supposed to be his
advisers and aids upon this sub Jcct, and make
an investigation for himself. \ more liberal
Interpretation of their powers will be more
in harmony with the spirit OF the law and
would not conflict with the letter. For example.
We shall wait with interest 10 see what Mr.
Edgcrton says, about the time he begins to
vice Reform League, Of the Leagues state
mcnts regarding Mr. WilDanhs, who a year
ago was the working member OF the exam
ining board there. This man blunuy mail
taincd that any number Of clerks could be
removed said he hoped tho idea was around
that none but Democrat, need apply for tho
examinations, and minated broadly thab
" nobody was ever hanged for violating tho
spirit of tic law To have such man as
guardian Of the reform was as absurd aS ii
would be to leave a maniac with a hOnicidal
tendency in charge Of an infant child
II would be a severe blow 10 the progress of
the reform if the Commission should allow
itself to take a partisan attitude. 1t repre-
scnts per SO the idea Of -partSanship in
a large part of the Government service. The
members should have no moro to do with the
personal fortunes of an Administration than
the Judges Of the Supreme Court